


The Sight of Things Unseen

by ambiguously



Series: Starfall [3]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family History, Multi, Two People Talking in a Room, infodump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 11:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6517207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia has questions about her past, and goes to the one person she believes might have the answers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sight of Things Unseen

**Author's Note:**

> I set out to write a story where the twins went to Naboo together, and instead, this happened. Yeah, I don't know, either.

Scheduling non-essential meetings was a nightmare. Leia's time hadn't been her own when she'd been a leader in the Rebellion. Han might tease about the three of them taking a long holiday somewhere together. Well, four because they wouldn't dream of leaving Chewbacca behind if they took a nice trip, and obviously the droids would come with them, and this is why they weren't taking that holiday anytime soon, aside from the fact that Leia was scheduled every minute of every day for the next month.

Despite this, she arranged a dinner meeting with Mon Mothma within two weeks of their arrival on Coruscant. They spent the first half working through the details of that report Leia needed to write for tomorrow's presentation, because trade negotiations would wait for no soup.

"I forgot how involved this was," Leia said, finally setting her datapad to the side. "I was only on three committees the last time I served in the Senate. We don't even have a proper Senate yet and I'm on twelve."

"You're a natural. I think you should consider running for a higher office." Mon Mothma looked tired. She'd also gone directly from their victory to their next job.

"You're only saying that because you're going to be elected whether you want it or not. I'm not saving you."

"And here I thought we were friends." Her smile undercut the barb. She took a small sip of water. "You want something."

"Information. I've been thinking, and I came to realize you may be the only living person left who has it."

"If this is about that raid, I assure you we were operating with the intelligence we had at the time." Two years, and Mon Mothma hadn't forgiven herself for the loss of life.

Leia shook her head. "You and my father were friends for a long time. You served together in the Senate back in the old Republic."

"Yes. Bail was one of my closest friends. I think I miss him almost as much as you do."

She wondered. There were entire days Leia forgot about what had happened, forgot about the sight of her home world destroyed as she was forced to watch. She'd never believed she would have a night where that wasn't the image that haunted her dreams, but her nights had changed.

"When I was ten, my parents told me I was adopted. It wasn't a fact they ever made public. Did you know?"

Mon Mothma did nothing so crass as play with her water glass nor look away coyly. She engaged Leia with a flat, knowing expression. "Your father never told me. When he announced that Breha had given birth to a daughter, we all celebrated in our private group. You were the one piece of good news we had among a great deal of sorrow."

Leia felt the disappointment settle into her. "I can only imagine."

"I never questioned him. As I said, he was one of my closest friends. He kept his family life private, and I was one of very few with whom he'd confided about his personal grief. Breha miscarried several times before you were born. He'd shared with me that his fear was that she would want to keep trying and that she would die in the process. Your father absolutely adored her. He'd have done anything to make her happy and keep her safe. I don't know if he remembered telling me about her last miscarriage. It was about five months before you came along."

"So you did know."

"As I told you, he never said." She tilted her head. "Before the Emperor seized control, I was proud to serve the Republic, and I was frightened of what it would become under his tyranny. I was not alone. Your father and a few other Senators, those we could trust, we formed the very beginning of what would become the Rebellion. One of them, another close friend of your father, was the Senator from Naboo."

Leia was familiar with the planet. She didn't understand why it was relevant. Mon Mothma saw her confusion.

"Senator Amidala was an ally, both in the Senate and in the forging of our new underground. She made great pains to hide under her robes, but it became clear she was pregnant. She had no husband on record, although she wasn't as good at subtlety as she hoped. There was a young Jedi often seen in her company. It wasn't difficult to guess what had happened." Old grief touched her face. "They both died during the purge of the Jedi Order and the takeover of the Empire. She was still with child when she was killed. Bit of a scandal there, although her family claimed to have found records of a secret marriage."

Leia's hopes had risen again with the story, and fell as it ended. "Not her, then."

"I always wondered. You were born so close to the time, and as I said, I was sure Breha hadn't given birth. If your father was that desperate to keep you hidden, I wasn't about to ask questions which might endanger you. I only guessed, and we never talked about it. In my heart, I thought of you as the child Padmé would have loved, and if you were that child, I would honor the memory of my friend best by keeping my silence."

"You didn't say anything after they died."

"No." She sighed. "I wasn't going to be the one who told you that you were adopted if they hadn't. And before you had even set aside your mourning clothes, I met someone who changed my mind. You see, I knew Padmé and I met her Jedi. His name was Skywalker."

Joy and sorrow mixed in a thin cocktail. The truth was bitter. "You met Luke."

"You brought in two recruits, and one of them was an orphan carrying the name of Padmé's lover. He said he wanted to be a Jedi like his father. I asked him when his birthday was. For our records."

"You never told him."

"There wasn't anything to say, and I didn't know if he already knew. I also felt embarrassed for spending all this time thinking the child might have been you." Her eyes crinkled kindly. "And then the story broke a few weeks ago that you have a twin."

Leia was prepared for this. They'd had no intention of telling anyone their discovery. Only Han had known, and he'd never have breathed a word. Leia would have introduced Luke as her friend and confidant, a hero of the Rebellion just like Han. Apparently Artoo had known about their family situation, and he told Threepio, who told everyone else before Leia had put that plan into motion. The small mercy was that the truth had come out before she'd let on Luke had recently become their lover.

Yet another thing no one needed to know, and a secret the droids had now been carefully programmed not to reveal.

She'd rehearsed a chagrined laugh and a line these last two weeks. "We found out right before the Battle of Endor. He's been my best friend for years. Han thinks it's hysterical." There. Emphasizing their friendship and downplaying the not unfounded rumors of more. Reminding the listener that Leia had a boyfriend she was public about. Pointing out the humorous side of the recent revelation. Not a single lie to cover the enormous truth.

Mon Mothma graded her performance with one eyebrow. "I'm sure. How is Han?"

"Fine. He may be going a little stir crazy. You know how he gets."

"I do. Leia, are you sure you want to know about your birth parents? Your parents loved you very much. Your father never tired of saying how proud he was of you every day. Your mother was a brave, strong woman who thought the world of you."

"I know. They were my parents, and nothing will ever change that for me. I have questions, and Luke has more. We know so little about our birth mother."

"You would have liked her. She was kind, and unafraid to do what was necessary to preserve lives and fight for our freedom. If you want to learn about her, you may want to visit her home world. She had family there."

The words resonated. All of Leia's family was dead, lost in a single blast. The link they had to the Skywalkers had died the day Luke left home. She refused to acknowledge the crooked demon of a man who'd squatted inside Vader's suit, and it didn't matter anyway because the bastard was dead and his body left burnt and buried in the rich Endor soil. She'd already uncovered the worst secret her past could throw at her.

Even Mon Mothma's brief description had loosened a knot in her soul. "You said there was a secret marriage?"

"That's the rumor. It may have been put out by her family to explain the pregnancy. If you go, you might be able to access the records."

"I don't care if they were married." She didn't. In her own mind, long ago, she'd assumed she was another war orphan whose parents had come together for comfort and parted in sorrow. She didn't need them to have a legal document in place. She had needed something else far more. "Her name was Padmé?"

"Padmé Amidala. Yes."

Leia had refused to think about this ever since Luke told her. She wouldn't dwell on the tortures she'd endured at her own father's orders. She wouldn't dread discovering that Darth Vader had once captured a prisoner and ravished her against her will by brute strength or by the Force. The thought never occurred to Luke, and Leia wouldn't share any of her nightmares, not unless she knew for certain. "His name was Anakin. Luke had that piece."

A nod, and a caged smile. Mon Mothma hadn't been certain, not truly certain. "Yes."

"You said he was her lover. Did she love him?"

"Young people often mistake infatuation and attraction for lifelong compatibility. She never told me nor anyone I know of that they were even together. General Kenobi may have known. But as I said, they weren't good at subterfuge, and I believe they both thought it was love."

Her heart, quietly seizing with fear and anger these past few weeks, at last relaxed into a less horrified beat. Anakin Skywalker had been her father, and her mother had been a Senator from Naboo, and they had conceived their children out of love. The dark creature that took control of him later hadn't spawned them, it had merely slaughtered the soul of man who did.

"Thank you," she said, unable to hide the relief.

"All the Jedi perished. I'm afraid if you are looking to find your birth father, I'm not sure he even had a grave."

Leia nodded. "My birth father died a long time ago. I wasn't sure, but I know that now." She set down her napkin. "I won't have time to go visit Naboo, not until all of this is better settled." That could take years.

"Find time. Not this week, obviously. Or next." Mon Mothma frowned. "I imagine we'll be able to breathe again in about a year, if we're that lucky."

"It can wait."

"Not everything must. Amidala was the name Padmé took when she was the monarch, and she kept it as her public name. Her family name was Naberrie."

"I know that name." A face clicked into place. "The Senator from Naboo." Delegations from all the worlds had been arriving to help set up the new government. Senator Naberrie's entourage had arrived two days ago. Leia remembered her well.

"Schedule another dinner meeting. Take your brother with you." Her mouth quirked. "But be more subtle than your mother was."

end


End file.
